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Ethnographic and Documentary Film (Practical) MA

London, Stratford (UCL East)

This one-year (or two-year if part-time) Ethnographic and Documentary Film (Practical) MA degree will give you the practical and theoretical skills to create original non-fiction film work to a professional standard. You'll study in small studios as you master a range of documentary modes. The course is run by leading non-fiction film practitioners, ensuring you receive the highest-quality practice-based learning.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2025/26)
£18,400
£9,200
Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)
£36,500
£18,250
Duration
1 calendar year
2 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2025
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 27 Jun 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 29 Aug 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

Normally a minimum of a lower second-class Bachelor's degree in a social science, arts, humanities or science discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Academically weaker applications will also be considered provided that they are supported by experience in visual arts or film making.

Applicants with prior technical knowledge of film making are asked to send a video portfolio of up to 20 minutes duration (use of a Vimeo link is recommended). Applicants without a video portfolio are asked to complete a photo essay. Please see our guidelines on how to make a visual essay.

How to submit your portfolio

Submit your portfolio/ photo essay by including a link to an external site of your choice in the application (e.g. in the personal statement).

The English language level for this programme is: Level 4

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

“Completing the Ethnographic and Documentary Film (Practical) MA at UCL was transformative. Not only have I left the course with a deep understanding of how to construct impactful and meaningful films, I have also gained a host of sought after, employable skills. My tutors were fantastic and, hand on my heart, I can honestly say that this course was the best decision I have made in my adult life.”

Molly Bell, Ethnographic and Documentary Film (Practical) MA, 2023-24

The Ethnographic and Documentary Film (Practical) MA will provide you with training in the theoretical and technical skills to produce documentary films of varied lengths for varied audiences.

  • You will learn to critically view and review film material, drawing on anthropological and social science approaches to documentary, and think critically about the relationship between form and content in documentary film practice.
  • You will be taught in small studios, each led by a practicing non-fiction filmmaker. All studios encourage originality and formal experimentation. The 'DocFiction' studio explores the boundaries of fiction and non-fiction, bringing elements of performance into documentary filmmaking. This studio has a cap of 18 students.
  • You will learn to produce creative and compelling films and graduate trained to produce your ideas to a professional standard.

In addition to your core practical filmmaking, you will take two optional modules from a range of modules offered in the Public Anthropology section of the department. These modules will support you to develop further practical skills (from audio production to feature writing) or pursue more academic interests (from an introduction to social theory to the history of documentary cinema) and will enrich your appreciation and understanding of factual storytelling in different contexts.

You will study at the top university in London, and 4th in the world, for Anthropology (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024) and The Times and Sunday Times University of the Year 2024.

You will study in a warm and welcoming department that is also one of the largest and broadest anthropology departments in the UK, which researches and teaches across five sub-sections, and which continually works to expand and reshape the discipline.

Who this course is for

The Ethnographic and Documentary Film (Practical) MA is best suited to students looking to find innovative ways to tell important stories that resonate with global audiences in a professional framework, guided by leading industry figures.

This degree is well-suited to students who have little or no experience in making films but also provides the opportunity for those with experience to deepen, broaden and diversify the range of their work.

This degree is well-suited to working professionals who wish to study part-time over two years.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

"An exciting opportunity to stand at the frontier of the non-fiction world. The quickest way to become a good independent filmmaker and learn how to think visually.”

Zenglin Yang, Ethnographic and Documentary Film (Practical) MA, 2021-22

You will receive training in the fundamentals of ethical documentary filmmaking, from the development and research of ideas to the production and post-production of films; you will receive training in camera equipment, sound recording and film editing. You will be loaned your own camera kit for the duration of your studies, avoiding the need to check equipment in and out, and benefit from full access to editing suites.

UCL houses London's global non-fiction film festival, Open City Documentary Festival, giving you a unique opportunity to engage with the global creative non-fiction industry.

This degree is based at our brand new UCL East campus in East London, forming part of the School for Creative and Cultural Industries. You will benefit from cultural and educational connections with our East Bank partners, including the V&A and BBC, as well as state-of-the-art facilities, including exhibition, performance and curating spaces, conservation studios and a 160-seater surround-sound cinema.

You will also develop demonstrable competencies transferable to any profession, including complex problem solving and creative initiative; communication skills; effective independent and team working; leadership; and time and project management.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Graduates of the Ethnographic Documentary Film (Practical) MA have gone on to pursue careers in a range of industry sectors, including:

  • Media (Film & TV).
  • IT, Technology and Telecommunications.
  • Publishing, Journalism and Translation.
  • PR, Advertising and Marketing.
  • Performance and the Creative arts.

Graduate job titles have included:

  • Arts officers (film directors, producers, camera operators, film editors, researchers, videographers, digital content creators).
  • Business and related research professionals.
  • Marketing associate professionals.
  • Photographers, audio-visual and broadcasting equipment operators.
  • Newspaper and periodical journalists and reporters.

(Graduate Outcomes survey, aggregated over the five most recent surveys [2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22])

Employability

You will graduate with a wide range of both creative audio-visual storytelling skills, including videography, sound recording and audio and video editing skills, as well as creative thinking and organisational skills. These will equip you to pursue a successful career in the film and wider creative industries or any profession requiring strong project management, problem-solving and communication skills.

Networking

As a student in the Department you have access to many opportunities to help further your career:

  • You will become part of the department's Public Anthropology section, learning from and networking with leading internal and external filmmakers including directors, producers, cinematographers, sound designers film editors and film academics through a weekly series of screenings and masterclasses.
  •  You will be encouraged to attend complementary departmental seminars given by active researchers in environmental, evolutionary and social anthropology and material, visual and digital culture throughout your studies.
  • You will benefit from cultural and educational connections with our East Bank partners, including the V&A and BBC Music.
  • You will be encouraged to take advantage of the broader creative, factual storytelling and filmmaking communities at UCL, our neighbouring institutions and across London more widely, including attending and participating in festivals, seminars, conferences, exhibitions and research partnership opportunities to help you establish industry connections and extend your professional networks.
  • You will be encouraged to engage with the department’s active careers support activities and initiatives, which include regular career development seminars and networking events.

All students are encouraged to host and/or participate in a Reading and Research Group (RRG), which are open spaces to exchange ideas on themes of mutual interest and welcome staff and student participation from across UCL and our neighbouring institutions.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of seminars, lectures, practical exercises, tutorials and masterclasses.

While planning and producing your final project, you will benefit from one-to-one supervision from a mentor.

You will be assessed through a series of formative exercises (exercises for which you will receive feedback but do not count toward the degree) and summative exercises (exercises for which you will receive feedback and do count toward the degree), including film works of varying lengths and styles; critical evaluations; and your final project.

Term one:
In term one, contact hours typically amount to 180 hours.

Term two:
In term two, contact hours typically amount to 120 hours.

Term three and over the summer:
In term three and over the summer, contact hours typically amount to 65 hours with mentors, editing tutors and in supervised screenings and tutorials.

Part-time students only take their core module during term 1 and term 2 of their first year, which amounts to maximum 3 days a week per term on campus.

Modules

Across the first and second terms, you will take the compulsory Documentary and Ethnographic Film Practice module, during which you will produce two examinable short films (7-10 minutes in duration) and accompanying critical evaluations. You will also regularly complete short film exercises in preparation for these two films. You will also take two optional taught postgraduate modules.

From April, under the guidance of a mentor, you will work on your graduation film, which forms the centrepiece of the portfolio of films you will produce on the MA and will be between 18-30 minutes in length.

As a part-time student, you will complete your degree across two years. In the first year, you will take the compulsory Documentary and Ethnographic Film Practice module.

You will choose whether to take your two optional modules in the second year, or one in the first year and one in the second.

From April of your second year, under the guidance of a mentor, you will work on your graduation film, which forms the centrepiece of the portfolio of films you will produce on the MA and will be between 18-30 minutes in length.

Compulsory modules




Optional modules











Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MA in Ethnographic and Documentary Film (Practical).

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

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Graduate Open Events: Social and Historical Sciences

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Join us at our Bloomsbury campus to discover where a postgraduate degree with UCL Social & Historical Sciences will take you. At this in-person event, you'll have the opportunity to learn more about our departments and our wide breadth of degree programmes. You'll have the chance to hear from academic staff and current students, and ask any questions you might have about the department, your chosen course and studying at a world-leading university.

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UCL East Postgraduate Open Evening

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Discover our range of practice-based, postgraduate programmes and cutting-edge facilities at our UCL East Postgraduate Open Evening. Visit us for your chance to learn more about the future-focused, interdisciplinary degrees we offer and to meet leading researchers delivering our programmes and chat with current UCL students.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2025/26) £18,400 £9,200
Tuition fees (2025/26) £36,500 £18,250

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For Full-time and Part-time offer holders a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

You will need two external hard drives capable of securely storing your film material. UCL will provide one of these, but you will need to purchase a second. This is essential in order to avoid loss of irretrievable film material in the event of a hard drive failure. Portable external hard drives costs around £200 for 5TB.

All students will be provided with an Adobe Creative Cloud license. We encourage and expect students to complete their coursework on campus as the computers on site are equipped to support video editing. The Adobe Creative Cloud user licenses will enable students to work from home but we cannot support students to upgrade or purchase personal devices.

As this programme is based at the UCL East campus in Stratford, students choosing to take an optional module only available at the Bloomsbury campus will need to fund their own travel between campuses. Tickets from zone 2 to zone 1 costs £8.50 for students or a travel card zone 1-4 for £15.90.
 

UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

UCL East Scholarship

The scholarship works to support the ambitions of east Londoners by funding the fees and living costs of eligible Master's programmes including this MA at UCL. For further details, visit: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/scholarships/ucl-east-london-scholarship.

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Aziz Foundation Scholarships in Social and Historical Sciences

Value: Full tuition fees (equivalent to 1yr full-time) (1yr)
Criteria Based on financial need
Eligibility: UK

UCL East London Scholarship

Deadline: 26 June 2025
Value: Tuition fees plus £16,000 stipend ()
Criteria Based on financial need
Eligibility: UK

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this programme of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application, we would like to learn:

• why you want to study Ethnographic and Documentary Film (Practical) at graduate level
• why you want to study Ethnographic and Documentary Film (Practical) at UCL
• how your personal, academic and professional skills and experiences inform your interest in, and will enable you to succeed on, this MSc programme
• where you would like to go professionally with your degree

Applicants with prior experience in filmmaking are asked to submit a portfolio of their film work (up to 20 minutes). Please submit your portfolio by including a link to an external site of your choice at the end of your personal statement.

Applicants without a video portfolio are asked to submit a visual essay. Please submit your visual essay by attaching a PDF to your application.

Please also indicate in your personal statement which of the two studios you are interested in being considered for (Ethnographic and Documentary Film or DocFiction). Read more about the two studios here.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2025-2026

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Anthropology
Anthropology

public.anthro@ucl.ac.uk

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